The western tree frog, Charpa tree frog, or Nagercoil whipping frog (''Polypedates occidentalis'') is a species of

frog A frog is any member of a diverse and largely Carnivore, carnivorous group of short-bodied, tailless amphibians composing the order (biology), order Anura (ανοὐρά, literally ''without tail'' in Ancient Greek). The oldest fossil "proto-f ...

in the family

Rhacophoridae The Rhacophoridae are a family of frogs that occur in tropical sub-Saharan Africa, South India and Sri Lanka, Japan, northeastern India to eastern China and Taiwan, south through the Philippines and Greater Sundas, and Sulawesi. They are commonly ...

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

to India.Das, I., & Dutta, S.K. (2006). New Species of ''Polypedates'' (Anura: Rhacophoridae) from the Western Ghats, Southwest India. ''Journal of Herpetology'' 40(2):214-220. It has been observed between 100 and 1100 meters above sea level in the

Parambikulam Tiger Reserve Parambikulam Tiger Reserve, which also includes the erstwhile Parambikulam Wildlife Sanctuary, is a protected area lying in Palakkad district and Thrissur district of Kerala state, South India. The Wildlife Sanctuary, which had an area of wa ...

and Charpa Forest Range, both of which are in

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

Description

This tree frog is characterized in having an obtusely pointed snout, a large tympanum, a prominent fold from the back of the eye to the shoulder, and an hourglass pattern on the dorsum terminating in the shape of a trident; in breeding season, the male possesses nuptial pads on first and second fingers.Gururaja, K.V. (2012). ''Pictorial Guide to Frogs and Toads of Western Ghats.'' Gubbi Labs. Western tree frog

This frog is closely related to ''

Polypedates cruciger ''Polypedates cruciger'' (commonly known as the Sri Lanka whipping frog or common hour-glass tree-frog) is a species of frog in the family Rhacophoridae Endemism, endemic to Sri Lanka. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forests ...

'' from

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

and '' P. pseudocruciger'' from Western Ghats. However, it is diagnosed by the following characters, apart from the ones listed above. Adult male size is up to 55.1 mm, the vomerine teeth are set obliquely between the choanae, the fingers have rudimentary webbing, no dermal fold is found along the forearm, the webbing on toe III reaches the disks at tips of the digits, conical lingual papillae are absent, the skin of forehead is free, the snout lacks a dermal flap, and the heel lacks a cutaneous spur.

Ecology and natural history

This species is usually seen on shrubs and understory in evergreen, semievergreen, and moist deciduous forests up to 1200 m above sea level. They are commonly seen near water bodies during the breeding season.

References

Frogs of India Amphibians described in 2006 {{Rhacophoridae-stub